The Lord is With Us
“Bread and Water”
(Matthew 14:13-36, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 28, 2007)
Matthew 14:13-36 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." 18 And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Introduction – Life in Prison
In this passage we hear of how people followed Jesus based on a report that He had gone to one place or another. A person who is in prison cannot do this. His freedom is restricted. There are other ways for a person to be locked up, in a way, with no option to go anywhere. I visited a good friend of mine this week who just found out that he has bone cancer. He has been in a skilled nursing facility since sometime in September, and now he apparently will be able to go home and to receive Hospice care. Of course that means that his doctors expect that his disease is fatal. Some people find their lives to be hopeless because of some addiction, sin, or emotional condition that they are unable or unwilling to fix. The unwilling part is not a small matter. What if the will is bound up in some paralytic desperation? There can be a prison-house of the will that is more hopeless than physical incarceration. At least if you are in a physical prison of some kind, there is a chance that someone can come and take you out of there. But who will free the person who is enslaved by some devastating habit of the heart or who can never move beyond a powerless good intention to start living again? This is a problem that requires a spiritual liberation.
When Jesus heard this (13)
John the Baptist was liberated in a way. His days in prison were over. Jesus “heard this,” and He went off by Himself. The person who has the ability to bring freedom to people who are in bondage will always be sought after, that is if people know and believe that He has that capability. Perhaps the reason why we are not completely packed out whenever the doors of the church are opened is that people do not believe that Jesus is still alive, or they do not believe that they are going to experience Him in a church service, or they do not believe that He can release people who are living in bondage. Before Jesus died on the cross, while He was displaying His divine power with life-changing life-giving miracles, the people knew about it, they believed that He could free them, and wherever He went, even if it was in some deserted place, they were there. Can you imagine what it would be like here today if you really believed that Jesus was here with us? But this is what He tells us. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Jesus is here. Jesus is alive. Jesus frees the prisoner. They may still be behind bars. Sometimes they may even die of cancer. But have no doubt about it. There are people here that have experienced it, and the Scriptures clearly testify to it, “Freedom Christ has set us free.”
So when the crowds heard where Jesus went, if they were able to move, if they were free enough to leave some place, if they had the will to do something new, they were out of their houses, even if it meant that they had to travel up to the lake, or go out into some deserted field, they were there – thousands of them.
Healing until the day was over (14-15)
And what did they find when they found Jesus? They found the man who had compassion on a vast group of people, many of whom were sick. They found someone who cared – someone who had a true sympathy for even one person who was bound in the chains of a disease or demonic destruction. They found the bread of life. They found a man with resurrection power. They found freedom Christ! So they stayed there with Him, and He healed many people into the evening.
More than bread (16-21)
The disciples were worried. Who was going to feed all these people? They knew that the crowd would listen to Jesus if He told them to go home, or go to some of the surrounding towns to find food. But when they brought the matter to Him, His response was shocking. “They need not go away. You give them something to eat.” His intention was to use the disciples to bring His miracle to thousands of people.
Do you see the importance of this? He could have just said, “They don’t need to go away. I will feed them with bread from heaven.” Instead He commanded His disciples to give them something to eat. The church where Jesus is present is the distributor of spiritual nourishment. This is not because we are able to do this. They were not able to feed thousands. They had five loaves and two fish. But when everything was picked up, there were twelve baskets of broken pieces left over, and it was from the hands of the disciples that everyone was satisfied. Why would Jesus do it this way, if not to set a pattern here for a great work that would come when Jesus Himself could no longer be seen? The One who is alive now works through His disciples who are His hands and feet. They do what they are not able to do, and people feel the touch of a Messiah who feeds the hungry, heals the downcast, and sets the prisoner free. How does God do this? He uses what we have, not what we don’t have. He uses five loaves and two fish, and with that weakness we look up to heaven and ask for His blessing. Then we move ahead and do what is in front of us to do, and when we pick up the pieces we realize that God was with us.
Above the water (22-33)
The disciples must have been shocked. He immediately got them into a boat and he stayed behind to dismiss the crowd. Jesus and the crowd receded into the distance as the disciples went out on the lake. Again, why did He do it this way? Why did He insist that the disciples go on ahead without Him? On one hand, He wanted to be by Himself for the purpose of prayer, which is very instructive to us. He was also setting up the next display of His divine power, this time only for them, something to challenge their faith that they might see their need and grow. Do not be surprised that Jesus would seem to set up situations for you that are difficult. “Lord, where did this threatening wind came from? Lord, I am far away from land, and it feels like I am not going to make it.” He is still challenging the faith of His disciples today – not to destroy us of course, but to grow us into what we will become.
Growth does not normally happen without wind and waves. But we are not alone. There is a Friend who can walk on top of rough seas. When He came to them, they first thought that He was the spirit of a dead man in some strange apparition. They believed in spirits, and angels, and the coming resurrection, as did the Pharisees, but the Sadducees (another religious party) did not believe in any of these things. But when they saw what they thought was a spirit, they screamed. But Jesus spoke to them immediately with reassuring words, and I hope that you are comforted by this passage as He says, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” There is someone who walks above the wild water. He took the fierce currents of God’s anger for sin on the cross. That divine anger surely would have capsized your boat and mine. He knows what you are going through, and He has not changed His mind about saving you from hell. He is here. He has risen. He rules. He speaks among His church to the hearts of those who are willing to hear these words, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
They were not immediately convinced that this image of a man which spoke to them could be trusted. Peter tests the Lord with the words “If it is you,” but it will be Peter who will be tested. How will the church do things beyond our ability? We have feet. The water is there. He says walk. Just keep your eyes on Him. How do you do that? It can start right here, right now, believing that the Lord is alive and that He speaks to His church and He is with us as He promised. Lift your heart up to Him. Believe. Fix your gaze upon His face of grace, the face that smiles upon the heart of faith. Feel the touch of the divine arm that lifts you out of danger through the word and sacrament today. Hear the sweet rebuke of the Father who loves you and sees you sinking in fear and unbelief. He says to you, “Why did you doubt?” Now feel the wind calming down in your turbulent heart. Look, everything is OK again. Your Savior, the Son of God, He saved you again today. You are safe here. You are in the boat again. Worship Him.
Lord, save me! (34-36)
The cry of faith always says, “Lord, save me!” The eyes of faith see that Jesus is in that region, and they gather the sick and bring them to Him. The hands of faith reach out to touch the hem of His garment in the Lord’s Supper. We are not strong in ourselves. That’s not the way we get things done in Christ. We cannot feed thousands with five loaves and two fish. We cannot walk on water. But He can do these things. And He can set the prisoner free. And He commands us to trust Him and to do this work. Many here have been touched by Him. Christ has been and is now our Liberator. He is here, and He will help us again today and tomorrow. Lord, save us!
Questions for meditation and discussion:
1. What is the connection between this passage and the previous one about the death of John the Baptist?
2. What do you make of the words, “You give them something to eat?”
3. Why did Jesus come walking on the water rather than appointing another boat to bring Him to the disciples?
posted by Pastor Magee at 10:30 AM
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